The advent of electronic motor racing may herald an era of quieter cars, but the inaugural Formula E event nonetheless ended with a resounding bang as Nick Heidfeld’s car was involved in a remarkable final-lap collision in Beijing. As he attempted to pass Nicolas Prost, Heidfeld was clipped by the Frenchman and sent careering from the track, his vehicle flipping into a barrier.

As the German’s team looked on in dismay, the car landed upside down before the driver clambered out unscathed. The aggrieved Heidfeld was subsequently confronted by an equally displeased Prost. Having led the field for much of the 25-lap race, Prost, son of the four-time former Formula One champion Alain Prost, had been on course to claim the points only for the final-lap collision to hand victory to the Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi.

Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost collide during the first race of the Formula E series

“I thought it was going to be a very big crash,” Heidfeld told the Formula E website. “Once I hit the kerb it felt like I was in the air for ever. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact and then I thought: ‘Oh, that was lucky.’ I have a small pain in my calf but apart from that I’m perfectly fine.”

The event was held in the Olympic Park, the site of the 2008 Games, with the course twisting between the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest stadium.

The next round of the 10-race series will take place in Putrajaya, on the west coast of Malaysia, on 22 November; the series is scheduled to conclude in London’s Battersea Park on 27 June 2015.